Player Welfare & Medical

Player WelfarePlayer: anyone who plays the game of rugby regardless of age sex or ability.
Player welfare: anything that affects the well-being of a player.

In March 2013 Dr. David Owens, Chief Medical Officer of Asia Rugby, proposed setting up a medical board for ARFU (now Asia Rugby) with the vision and mission statements and objectives as stated below.

“Vision statement:”
To facilitate the sharing of medical/sports science knowledge and resources throughout ARFU with the goal of enhancing player welfare.

Mission statement:
To enhance player welfare for all players at all levels of the game.

Objectives:
For the medical board to revue policies and procedures, develop a program of pitch side trauma care training and present an assessment of injury prevention and scrum safety to be presented to the ARFU board within 2013. A formal meeting of the ARFU medical representatives will be held at the 2013 IRB medical conference.”

The first formal meeting of the new medical board was held at the IRB (now World Rugby) medical conference in November 2013. The above statements and objectives were ratified and processes for appropriate education programmes were started.

Medcom, as the medical board is now known, under the leadership of Dr. David Owens, with Lucy Clarke from HK Rugby undertaking a volunteer coordinating role and with initial group representatives from HK, UAE, TPE, Korea, Japan and Singapore, has supported Asia Rugby since the 2013 meeting. That support has involved the development of medical standards and resources, working in particular to raise tournament medical standards and to support and develop the various strands of first aid and pitch side immediate care from community to international rugby levels. Its success is evident at tournaments, international, regional and domestic, in the increasing numbers of people who have attended medical courses and with the interest the whole process has generated.

With the rapid expansion of Asia Rugby and the corresponding increase in the number of tournaments across the region, and with a corresponding need to expand Asia Rugby medical resources and bring together various education and information strands, Asia Rugby agreed this could no longer be managed by a volunteer coordinator and approved the appointment of Joy Walter as a part time paid consultant, to act as Asia Rugby Medical Coordinator.

Professor Mutsuo Yamada
Medical Officer Japan Rugby Football Union,
Injury Prevention and Research Unit, High-performance section,
World Rugby, Medicine, Science and Research Working Group World Rugby, Medicine, Immediate Pitch Side Care Working Group

Dr. Jo Probert
Head of Pitch Side Medical Care and Education, Singapore Rugby, World Rugby working group member for developing nations

Ms. Lucy Clarke RN
Head of Medical,
Hong Kong Rugby Union

Joy Walter
Asia Rugby Medical Coordinator

Megan Knight,
Partnerships and Development Advisor,
Lao Rugby

Chris Page

Asia Rugby Medcom recognises that directing or having exacting policies in the sports medical area that are applicable in all Member Unions is not practical or appropriate. Member Unions work within different levels of legal, economic, social and medical expertise that impact on each Union’s ability to deliver a single uniform medical policy. The World Rugby guidelines gives both best practice and for specific areas ,like concussion, antidoping and age grouping, the minimum standards.

Training and Education

A World Rugby Guideline is developed to outline best practice with respect to a medical issue.

A World Rugby Guideline aims to identify best practice considering the available current evidence

Each country has the opportunity to adapt this Guideline to suit its local environment|

Concussion and antidoping are minimum standards

Age group guidelines are used by Asia Rugby (Players age on Jan 1st each year determines their age grouping)

Medcom will continue to use the WR Guidelines as the minimum standard for medical provision at AR regional tournaments, as these are based on best practice. They will be reviewed as evidence for best practice is updated. For individual Member Unions, the implementation of the guidelines within individual Member Unions needs to recognise best practice and factor in the unique social, economic and health provision environment(s) which exist within the individual Member Unions. Each union should be developing and reviewing its own best practice model

Asia Rugby Medcom members can assist and advise Member Unions on developing their best practice medical models.

Please feel free to contact us on [email protected] at any time for information, assistance or advice on any player welfare, best practice, implementation of guidelines.